Opening News

7 sudden new restaurant openings taking place around Dallas right now

Aloo tikki from Âme in Oak Cliff.

Photo courtesy of Ame

The city of Dallas' permitting process has been mired in slowness, delaying many potential restaurant openings. But some warriors have broken through including a new Indian restaurant in Bishop Arts, a hot chicken restaurant by SMU, and fingers crossed, a cookie delivery place in Victory Park.

Here are seven sudden new openings taking place this week (or next):

Food park popup in south Dallas
The MLK Food Park is a pop-up event debuting in south Dallas' Forest District on April 9 and running through May 2. This partnership between the Real Estate Council's (TREC) Community Investors and the Better Block Foundation will feature a weekly rotation of food trucks and trailers, vendors, and musicians and entertainers.

The goal is to transform a vacant lot into a gathering space, with public art, greenspace, community flowerbeds, shady pergolas, and a children’s play area; and also to create an incubator-like setting highlighting local entrepreneurs and southern Dallas food artisans, food truck, and trailer purveyors. Vendors are listed at betterblock.org/mlkfoodpark.

Tacos on Greenville Avenue
Saint Taco is a new taqueria which opened on April 5 at 5323 Greenville Ave., in the former BBBop Seoul Kitchen space, where it's serving breakfast tacos, street tacos, Tex-Mex staples, and wings, plus fries, queso fries, and loaded fries. Their veggies and guacamole are prepared fresh daily, their meats are trimmed by hand, salsa is house-made, and their refried beans are made straight from the pinto.

BBBop hasn't disappeared: You can order their menu on a takeout basis from a ghost kitchen at that location, or else visit the BBB Bop location in Oak Cliff.

Indian food in Oak Cliff
Âme (pronounced Ah-mmh) is an exciting new French-Indian concept from mother-daughter duo Afifa and Sabrina Nayeb (Laili, 8 Cloves, and JuiceBabe in the Dallas Farmers Market) that'll open in the former Hattie's space at 418 N. Bishop Ave. on April 9.

Named for the French word for soul, Âme will serve upscale Indian food but with French techniques. It'll be open for dinner and brunch. It'll also feature a companion cocktail lounge called Elephant Bar with a big selection of champagne.

Nashville hot chicken in the Park Cities
Lucky’s Hot Chicken, the Nashville hot chicken concept from Vandelay Hospitality Group, will open on April 12 at 6309 Hillcrest Ave. in the former Digg's Taco Shop at McFarlin Boulevard. This is the second location; the original opened at 4505 Gaston Ave. in 2020.

The menu includes a chicken sandwich, chicken tenders and nuggets, mac & cheese, coleslaw, fried pickles, fries, frozen cocktails, and soft serve, plus a new red velvet Belgian waffle with three tenders. They're open 11 am-2 am daily. Online ordering is available at luckyshotchicken.com.

Cookies in Victory Park
Insomnia Cookies will open its second store in Dallas at Victory Park in "late April," they won't say which day. UPDATE 5-18-2021: The store opened on May 18. They'll host a grand opening party on Saturday May 22 from 12-8 pm, with loads of giveways.

This is the 10th location in Texas for this late-night bakery concept founded in a University of Pennsylvania dorm room by then-student Seth Berkowitz in 2003.

The Victory Park shop will be at 2422 Victory Park Ln., Unit C30 Dallas, and will deliver to the American Airlines Center, W Dallas Hotel, and surrounding Victory Park business and residential areas. There's also a location in Deep Ellum.

Chicken tenders in Plano
Raising Cane's just opened its fourth Plano location at 6060 Coit Rd., at the intersection of Spring Creek Parkway. The grand opening celebration included a special appearance by the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, and Cane's 1967 vintage red Cadillac convertible, featured on TV show Fast N' Loud, was in attendance. Pity we missed it. This is the 169th location in Texas. It features a multi-lane drive thru, takeout, dining room, online ordering through its mobile app, and on its large patio. Hours are Sunday-Thursday from 10 am-12 midnight, and Friday-Saturday 10 am-1 am.

Grilled cheese delivered in Plano
Plano Grilled Cheese Company is a delivery-only gourmet grilled cheese concept now open from the team at Sea Breeze, the Plano seafood restaurant and market. The sandwiches are served on Texas toast, some with seafood: The Lobster ($15) with white cheddar cheese and basil, the Smoked Salmon Club ($15) with Havarti, bacon, and red onion marmalade, and the Crab Cake ($14) with white cheddar and remoulade. Non-seafood offerings include triple cheese, chicken tenders and bacon, and a patty melt. There are also soups: smoked tomato basil bisque, seafood gumbo, and New England clam chowder, plus coleslaw, Asian slaw, and French fries. Ordering is available via Favor.

openings

Chocolate News

Richardson dessert shop Chocolate Drip lays out eye-catching treats

Chocolate Drip

Chocolate bear with pistachio sauce at Chocolate Drip

A dessert shop in Richardson has become the toast of the sweets world: Called Chocolate Drip, it opened in August at 1057 S. Sherman St., in a center east of US-75 near Spring Valley Road, where it's rolling out some eye-catching chocolate treats.

Chocolate Drip is a passion project from Mohammad Quzmar, a Palestinian-born owner who moved to Dallas four years ago and taught himself to cook through tinkering. That experimentation has translated into a constantly evolving menu, with new creations appearing whenever inspiration strikes — earning him a growing reputation as something of a modern-day Willy Wonka.

"Chocolate is my passion. I just love being in the kitchen and creating,” he says.

The cafe's offerings are extensive, from sweet breakfast staples like pancakes and waffles to off-menu items teased on the café’s Instagram, such as the Dubai Drip platter — an interactive fondue plate with fruit, brownies, waffles, marshmallows, to be dipped into melted chocolate and pistachio cream.

Many of his items have the kind of eye-catching twists and table-side presentations that draw attention on Instagram, such as the cruffle (a waffle made from a croissant) topped with spaghetti-like strands of gelato, which a server extrudes through a potato ricer right before your eyes.

Other signatures include a teddy bear made of chocolate mousse and kanafa, finished with pistachio sauce for $13.30, and crepes filled with a brownie, with pistachio and chocolate sauce for $15.

Prices are not cheap but these are ultra-decadent items with generous portions, often meant for sharing.

The drink list is ambitious, spanning coffee, matcha, smoothies, milkshakes, and nonalcoholic mocktails. It's obvious Quzmar is having fun, rolling out his versions of viral items like the famous s'mores hot chocolate pioneered by New York dessert shop Glace, which features a cap made of marshmallow meringue that’s torched and topped with a chocolate bonbon.

There are also a few savory offerings like egg-and-cheese crepes, a salmon croissant, and a turkey waffle. Those in the know also come to order Middle Eastern treats like salab, a creamy milk drink topped with cinnamon; and Om Ali, a sugary pudding with nuts, dried fruit, and coconut.

Named after the Gen Z slang for “cool” or “stylish,” Drip is meant to be a hangout spot more than a quick dessert stop, Quzmar says — a place to linger over brunch, then return late night to a place that feels buzzy and fun sans alcohol.

“Everyone who works here is either family or treated like family and everything is homemade with love," he says.

desserts openings